Little Wonders
by KLafferty6
Summary: Haley James finds herself pregnant and unwed about the time Nathan Scott shows up on her doorstep. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, can she go along with the elusive loner's plan without getting her heart involved? Can he? NH.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Little Wonders

**Author:** Kristen (KLafferty6)

**Summary:** Haley James finds herself pregnant and unwed about the same time Nathan Scott shows up on her doorstep. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, can she go along with the elusive loner's plan without getting her heart involved? Can he? NH.

**Rating:** M (in later chapters)

**A/N**: This story is inspired by a book called _Heard it Through the Grapevine_ which I absolutely love and read on a far too frequent basis, so if the plot seems familiar to anyone at all, it has been based off of this magnificent book. It was just too wonderful not to use for Naley. This is the first multi-chapter fic I've started in who knows how long, so bear with me. I'm hoping to update once a week, if not twice a week. Thanks to my **sister** for the title suggestion and overall encouragement and support, you're a rockstar Moll.

*IMPORTANT* Also, I want to let everyone who may have me on alert (if that's anyone at all) know that I will be changing my account name from oth. daddy's. girl. 06 to Klafferty6 here in the near future. Just don't want to cause any confusion.

* * *

_Stupid._

That word was playing on loop in her head as she stared down an the stick in her hand, thinking maybe if she squinted hard enough the blue would turn to pink. When it didn't, she slowly lowered herself to the floor of the small, dank bathroom in her tiny one bedroom house that shook as the rain and thunder rumbled on outside.

Twenty-three. She'd waiting twenty-three years before she found someone she thought was special enough to give herself to and she ends up knocked up straight out of the gate. Her brothers always did tell her she was an over achiever. She looked back down at the stick in her hand, glaring through hot tears, as it only seemed to only get bluer. It was then that it hit her, the enormity of the situation. Haley James, the unwed, only daughter of a preacher who had yet to receiver her college degree was pregnant. And with that, the tears began to fall. She was going to have a baby - she was going to have a little life completely dependent on her, the thought scared the shit out of her. It's not that she didn't like kids, or want kids; but this is not at all how she pictured it happening. Cart before the horse indeed.

She continued to sit there; sad and scared and miserable. She was pretty much sure things could not get any worse than this.

And then, with another loud clap of thunder…the lights went out and the house went completely dark. She sat there for a minute, a pitiful, pathetic whimpering noise emitting from her even as she turned her tear stained face up to the proverbial skies and grumbled a few choices words to the man upstairs. Rising slowly from her spot on the floor, she walked blindly through the small house towards the living room.

"Damn couch." She grumbled when she caught her knee on the offensive piece of furniture. With hands spread wide, she moved them in front of her, fumbling around the coffee table until she had successfully grabbed the large candle and lighter she kept there. Successfully lighting the candle she looked around her, everything untouched by the light bathed in darkness. She couldn't seem to find the energy to move around the house, lighting the other candles she kept mainly as decorative purposes so she moved back towards the couch, jumping in surprise and cursing as wax hit her hand when a rapping knock echoed through her small home.

He sat in the vehicle, fingers tapping repeatedly against the steering wheel as he peered through the rain at the house that appeared to be completely dark inside. He knew she had to be home; her old, piece of crap car was in the drive way and he knew if she had any of the sense she was born with she was smarter than to go walking at night, in the rain in this neighborhood. Hell, you'd be hard pressed to get him to walk around this neighborhood in broad daylight. If he had three guesses they'd all be that the power went out with the storm. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if he pulled up and the damn thing had just given in and collapsed all together. Granted, she had the nicest house this side of the campus but -he noted- taking in the neglected yard and weathered woodwork, that really wasn't saying much. With a sigh he climbed out of his truck and made his way to the house, frowning as the porch creaked from under him as he stepped on to it.

He swore to himself every time he came here it would be the last. He had better things he could do with his time and she certainly didn't want to be checked up on like a child. But Lydia James was nothing if not persistent and he'd always felt as if he owed them something – _everything _- and if checking up on Haley every now and then paid back even the smallest fraction of debt he felt he owed to them, then he figured he could suck it up and do it.

The porch groaned again as he stepped up to the door, and that odd, but vaguely familiar feeling started swimming around in his stomach. He knocked, only to be met with silence, and that feeling in the pit of his stomach only swam faster. He hated that feeling, wasn't well acquainted with it – except for when it came to _her_.

He knocked again, even louder, his frown deepening as there was still no answer. He glanced behind him, double-checking that yes, her car was actually there. He then remembered it was a Friday, maybe she was out on a date. And then he wished he hadn't remembered as a wave of memories rushed out at him.

He shook his head furiously as if trying to physically rid them from his head, playing in his mind's eye like an old movie he'd seen more times than he'd ever admit. As soon as he left the James' house at eighteen, he didn't think he'd ever have to be haunted by her again– until Lydia called a year ago asking him to keep tabs on her baby girl when she'd moved from Tree Hill Community College to UNC – Charlotte. Much as she loved her daughter, Lydia James knew all too well how naïve her innocent, kind-hearted daughter could be and she'd been protected all her life by loving parents and four older brothers, Lydia insisted there was no reason for that to stop with Nathan living so close.

Again he knocked; half afraid, half hoping the sad excuse for a front door would just give way against his fist. Finally he heard the sound of footsteps from inside before her quiet voice called out.

"Who is it?"

He sighed. "It's Nathan." He waited a beat, hearing nothing from the other side of the door. "Haley J?"

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice sounding strained and tired. That feeling in his stomach went from swimming to churning. Something was wrong.

"Open the door Haley." He demanded, trying the handle only to find it locked.

"What?" now she sounded tired and pissed. _Great_. "Nathan, I'm fine. I was sleeping."

"Haley James I'm about two seconds away from knocking this damn door down so either you let me in or move out of the way." He threatened, knowing she was standing on the other side with her arms crossed in defiance, a fierce stubbornness in her expression that he'd always admired and hated all at the same time.

"Nathan Scott, don't you dare!" She huffed back, rolling her eyes at his persistence. There used to be a time when he couldn't get away from her fast enough, now he wouldn't leave her the hell alone.

"Open the damn door Haley." He answered with a dead calm he didn't feel at all. "Or we'll be replacing it with a new one tomorrow."

He couldn't control the smirk that crossed his face as he heard her let out a grunt of exasperation, throwing open the locks before barely cracking the door open. He could hardly see her through the dark, a dim glow from a candle bouncing off of her face.

"It's dark in there Hales." He stated, deciding to go with the obvious. She was already pissed; might as well have a little fun with it.

"Well thank you for that astute observation Sherlock." she snarked; clearly not in the mood for his teasing. "The power went out about ten minutes ago, and like I said, I was sleeping."

"It's 830 on a Friday night Haley, what are you, 80?" he once again teased.

"Haha." She deadpanned. "You can go now."

"But Hale-"

"You came to check on me right?" she asked, watching through the dark as he nodded, though she already knew the answer. She complained to her mother every time they spoke that she didn't need a babysitter and she certainly didn't need Nathan Scott checking in on her and her mother would always say she'd stay out of it, but it never failed, a few days later, he would show up on her porch grumpy and looking liked he'd rather be anywhere else. "Well now you've seen me. You can tell my mother I'm fine. Goodnight Nathan."

She moved to close the door, but he was too fast for her, sticking his foot in the open space.

"Nathan, damnit!" she exclaimed, and though he couldn't see her face all that well, he just knew she was glaring at him.

"Now Haley James, I've known you since you were just a ten year old pain in my ass and I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you be rude and curse at someone. Something's bothering you, let me in."

She stood there looking at him, half tempted to raise her fist to the skies and shake it angrily at the heavens. Though she always complained to her mother, she didn't hate him checking in on her nearly as much as she led on. She liked seeing him, grumpy and uncomfortable as he may be, she liked knowing he was doing well, that he was okay. He may have thought he was just checking in on her, but Haley was almost certain her mother was trying to keep tabs on the both of them. But right now? Right now Nathan Scott was the last person she wanted to see.

He stood there looking at her, knowing without really seeing that she was eyeing him warily. She'd never been so put off from one of his visits before, normally ushering him in, offering him coffee or a meal, making him feel uncomfortably at home the way the James' had always managed to do. He sighed when she made no attempt to open the door any further.

"Okay look Hales. It's me or your mother. I'd hate for her to have to drive down here so late at night but –"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh try me." He warned. A smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as she slid the chain lock free and let him in.

"There, was that so hard?" he smirked at her, shutting the door behind him. He watched as she stepped further into the living room, the lights graciously flickering back on. Her face was turned from him, her short chocolate-colored locks acting as a shield as she looked down, seemingly studying the pink polish on her tiny feet. His eyes worked down her body, taking in the hunter green UNCC t-shirt she wore that appeared to be several sizes too large as it hung past her denim clad thighs. It always amazed him - though he'd hardly admit it to himself - how she managed to look gorgeous without even trying. Insisting on coming inside was starting to become a bad idea, he realized, tugging at the tie still noosed around his neck.

"So what's going on Haley?" he asked simply, watching as she shrugged, her gaze never leaving her feet.

"Nothing, I was sleeping I told you."

"In jeans?" he questioned.

"No, I tugged them on when you knocked on the door." She lied.

Fighting to keep that image out of his mind he decided he'd stop discussing anything having to do with her and a bed and less clothing.

"Since you don't appear to be leaving, would you like something to drink? I can get you coffee?" she asked, briefly raising her eyes to his, unable to prevent the gasp when she saw the concern swirling in his blue eyes.

Before she could even make a move, he pulled her to him, hands braced on her shoulders so she wouldn't move as he took in her face properly for the first time since she'd opened the door. Her pretty face was tear-stained and red, her normally radiant brown eyes seemed dull and there were tears pooling in them. He was immediately overcome with rage, knowing she'd been hurt, automatically wanting to kill the person that so much as looked at her the wrong way. He might not have ever liked it, but he'd always been fiercely protective of her, from the time she was a pig-tail wearing pain in the ass to now when standing too close to her was painful in an entirely different way.

"Nathan…" she whispered, not sure what, if anything, she was going to say. She'd immediately noticed the way his eyes darkened in anger as he looked at her, her eyes following his as they traveled over her face.

"Tell me what's wrong Haley." He demanded tightly, sighing as she shook her head in protest. Leading her to the couch, he sat down next to her, grabbing on to her hand to insure that she wouldn't dart off. "C'mon Haley J, tell me. You'll feel better when you do."

"Nathan, just leave it be." She pleaded quietly, though she was sure it was in vain.

"No can do, sorry." He retorted simply. Eyebrow arched expectantly as he waited for her to give in. He once again, sat there watching her, clenching his jaw as her tears spilled over, trailing down her already stained face. He reached out before thinking about it, wiping gently at her cheeks with the back of his hand, tracing his thumb softly down the line of her jaw. Her tears once again bringing back those unwanted memories he'd fought away while standing on her porch.

He'd gone to the James' one summer, after weeks of Lydia demanding he come 'home' even as he insisted that was not his home. He was twenty-one, fresh out of junior college that he'd manage to struggle his way through, living in a shabby one bedroom apartment. He hadn't been back 'home' since he left at eighteen, only calling to check in every few months to assure Lydia and Jimmy he was alive. He expected to go back and have it be like a time warp, a scrawny fourteen year old Haley annoying and fascinating him at the same time as Jimmy and Lydia fussed over him while the boys acted as if he'd never been gone. And it was, except for Haley being scrawny and annoying and fourteen. He didn't know why it didn't occur to him, but over the three years he was gone, Haley had grown up to. Gone was the braces wearing, goofy kid that was constantly trying to make him a better person, make him part of their family. She'd been replaced with a beautifully developed seventeen year old young woman, poised and matured and sweeter than ever.

He'd stayed for a few weeks, spending time with her parents, assuring Lydia that he was doing well, playing football with her brothers, falling back into routine with her. Annoying though she may have been, he'd always considered her his best friend. His last night in town they'd driven to the Rivercourt, sitting in the bed of his old beat up truck, looking at the stars and talking about nothing in particular. He remembered her turning to him, softly whispering three words before her mouth landed on his, pushing sweet, chaste kisses to his surprised, yet cooperating lips. He let himself get caught up in the moment for a few seconds –admittedly longer than he should have – before pushing her away from him with gruff words and a cold stare, hoping she didn't see the want he was furiously trying to tamp down. She'd cried then, crushed and embarrassed, and he swore to himself right then and there he'd never hurt her again. He left Tree Hill as soon as the sun rose that next morning, hugging Jimmy and Lydia goodbye, shaking hands with the boys before glancing at her. Her eyes wouldn't meet his and his heart broke, though he knew he'd done the right thing in refusing her. He owed Jimmy and Lydia everything; he wouldn't tarnish his appreciation and gratitude towards them by lusting after their good, innocent, perfect only daughter.

He shook his head, bringing himself out of his thoughts as his eyes found hers again, once again frowning at the tears that fell from them.

"Tell me why you're crying Hales." he pushed again softly. "Are you sick?"

She shook her head, a small whimper escaping her lips at his mumbled 'Oh thank God.'

"No." she shook her head again. "It's nothing like that Nathan. Look there's nothing you can do, no point in you fussing over it."

"Do you need money? I know things are still a little tight after Jimmy's surgery."

"No!" she exclaimed, looking completely exasperated and scared. If she thought snapping at him was going to make him drop it she had another thing coming.

He sat there, mentally checking off the things on his list that would make this normally happy girl so sad that she was sitting in the dark crying. He'd just talk to Lydia so he knew the family was fine, she wasn't sick or doing poorly in school or struggling for cash, so…

"Is this about a guy?" he asked, jaw clenching at the sheer thought of a guy treating her like anything short of a princess. She shrugged, and he knew that was his answer. He half expected steam to billow out of his ears he was so livid. "Want me to call your brothers and go beat him up?"

"I'm afraid the damage has been done regardless." She said. "Plus you guys would kill him."

"I don't know that we'd kill him. Maim him for sure, but killing him is a bit extreme. But it depends, what did he do?"

She started to squirm but he held on to her hand tighter.

"Nathan, let me up." She requested softly, prying his fingers from her hand even as he shook his head in response.

"No."

"Do you want to know what's wrong?" she asked, finally acquiescing to the fact that she wasn't going to get rid of him. People were going to find out eventually, might as well get it out in the open now. She watched as he nodded and gave her a look that said '_Duh_.'

"Then you need to let me up." She told him, freeing her hand gently before signaling she'd be right back, going into the bathroom to retrieve the pregnancy test box she'd haphazardly tossed to the floor when opening it.

Returning to the living room, she sat back in her spot, wordlessly handing him the box. He stared at it, hesitantly taking it from her hands as his eyes reconnected with hers. He watched as she shrugged helplessly, a sad smile on her face.

"Haley." He said softly, not sure of what to say. "How – how did this happen?"

She laughed light, hollow laugh. "Nathan, I highly doubt that's a conversation I need to have with you."

"Yeah. No, I mean, was it, are you -?"

"The stick turned blue Nathan, yeah." She answered, knowing what he was trying to ask her. She'd be amused by his inability to find words if there was anything about this situation to find humor in.

"And blue is – that means…?" he asked, his eyes glancing from the box that he fumbled from hand to hand to her eyes.

"Yeah, Nathan. Blue means baby." She shrugged again helplessly. "I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Little Wonders

**Author:** Kristen (KLafferty6)

**Summary:** Haley James finds herself pregnant and unwed about the same time Nathan Scott shows up on her doorstep. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, can she go along with the elusive loner's plan without getting her heart involved? Can he? NH.

**Rating:** M (in later chapters)

**A/N**: This story is inspired by a book called _Heard it Through the Grapevine_ which I absolutely love and read on a far too frequent basis, so if the plot seems familiar to anyone at all, it has been based off of this magnificent book. It was just too wonderful not to use for Naley.

I apologize for not updating as quickly as I originally said I would, I've been busier this summer than I could have anticipated. So I make no promises except that I promise to update as soon and as frequently as I can.

Again, I want to thank _**Molly**_ and **_Di_** for their constant encouragement and just for being amazing people.. You're both rockstars. Okay, on with the story...

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He sat there staring at her, his eyes unconsciously drifting down to her still flat stomach. _Pregnant._ Sweet, innocent, unwed Haley James was pregnant. This was not the path he ever thought she'd find herself on. She was bound for greatness. She was supposed to get a degree to save the world, marry a man that Nathan would never measure up to, and have ten perfect, spoiled, well behaved children running around her dream house.

She sat there, watching him watch her and she wondered what he was thinking. She could see the gears turning in his head as he eyed her still mercifully flat belly. Surely he had something to say. He'd never been an openly talkative person, but he'd never been one to hold back his opinion.

"Nathan," she hedged, his eyes snapping to hers. "You want to um, you want to say something? You're making me nervous sitting there all quiet."

"Sorry." He muttered, his eyes still fluttering between her own brown orbs and her midsection. "What uh – what are you going to do?"

She shrugged with a small smile. "Have a baby I guess."

"Haley." He warned, clearly not in any position to deal with her twisted jokes.

"What Nathan?" she laughed despite herself. "I mean, I just found out. Literally, ten minutes before you knocked on my door, if even that. None of this has processed, I have no idea what I'm going to do. "

"What about the father?" he asked, unable to help the rush of anger that flooded his body as he thought about the jackass that did this to her.

"I don't know." She answered with another shrug. "I mean, I'm not going to marry him – not that he'd ever propose."

The anger turned to rage, mixing with disbelief at what she'd just said. Apparently this idiot didn't have the sense he was born with if he didn't snatch her up, he couldn't imagine a more perfect woman than Haley. He figured that made him an idiot too, for not making her his when he had the chance, but that was his own way of protecting her. She deserved better; better than him, better than the dick that knocked her up with no intent of furthering their relationship. Which reminded him…

"What the fu-"

"Nathan!" she admonished, frowning at his language.

"Sorry." He mumbled again. "What do you mean he'd never propose? Was this just some random guy Haley?" he cringed just thinking about the possibility of her just hooking up with any guy.

"No! Of course not. I realize this situation is a contradiction to what I'm about to say, but you know I don't do reckless things like that Nathan." She exclaimed before biting her lip, eyeing him cautiously. She never knew how many details were too many when it came to Nathan. "It's just, since we, um, well since we, ya know, uh-"

"Had sex?" Nathan filled in, smirking despite his anger. The girl standing before him had gotten knocked up by some jackass and yet couldn't say the word 'sex'.

"Yes." She deadpanned with an eye roll. "Since then he's been really, I don't know, different I guess? Doesn't really call anymore, breaks plans."

Her eyes widened as she watched his face flush with color and the anger once again flared up in his eyes. She looked on with far too much interest as his extremely built chest rose and fell slowly with the deep breath he took.

"Why?" he managed to ask through clenched teeth, only to receive a shrug that only added to his anger. "Do I need to talk to this guy?"

She gave him a small smile. "You sound like one of my brothers."

"I'm not one of your brothers Haley." Though he'd always been equally as protective of her as any of her four brothers, they'd never had a sibling type relationship; not even close.

"I know." She whispered, looking at him through long, dark lashes. They locked eyes, his normally light blue eyes were almost as dark as the sky as they took in the helplessness shining in her own wide, brown ones.

"Haley, are you sure you don't want me to…talk to this guy?"

"No, that's just not a good idea." She answered as she laughed to herself, imagining them trading notes on why neither of them wanted her. And for whatever reason, that thought alone had her tears rushing back.

"Whoa." Nathan said quietly, placing a hand on her back as she swayed slightly where she sat. "You okay Hales?"

"Yes." She sniffed, attempting to smile at him through her tears. "And thank you for the offer Nathan, but this is something I need to handle on my own. I need to talk to Tyler. And my brothers. And my parents. God, my parents are going to freak Nathan. They're going to be so disappointed. You know, I don't think I've ever disappointed them before. My father's a preacher for crying out loud! And I'm pregnant and alone. I'm an excellent example of a preacher's daughter aren't I? And his health! I know his heart attack was years ago but I think he's still weak from it in some ways, he doesn't need to be stressing and worrying about his idiot daughter!"

He waited for her to finish her rant, having known her long enough to know that she had a severe habit of rambling, especially when stressed or freaked out. He watched her as she finished, the tears building up behind her eyes bursting forth, her beautiful face crumbling as she broke out into sobs, her tiny frame shaking from the force. He acted on pure instinct as he moved toward her, pulling her into his arms, draping her legs over his so she all but sat in his lap as her head rested in the nook between his chin and shoulder. He brought one hand to rub her back gently as he whispered soothing words into her hair, pressing kisses ever so lightly to the top of her head every now and then.

She hardly ever dreamed that she'd be in Nathan Scott's arms again and now she found it to be the most comfortable and yet the most painful feeling, but she didn't fight him. Right or wrong, painful or not, she needed him. God, she needed him. She curled herself more tightly into him, drawing from his strength, relishing in the sweet words and kisses he whispered into her hair. When she felt her tears beginning to subside -she'd decided she'd cried all of them out by that point- she lifted her face slowly, her eyes meeting his familiar, warm blue ones. He was still so much the same boy she'd loved as a teenager, blue eyes that glowed like flames, thick, dark hair, his strong jaw, and a gorgeous, lean, powerful build. He cradled her face in his hand, moving his thumb across her cheek to catch the last remaining tears trekking down her face as his gaze met hers and she couldn't help but lean into his touch. And that's when she saw it. It was quick, like a flash of lightening, so quick she wondered if she'd imagined it. His eyes flared for just a second, and she'd swear that if he were anyone else, any other man, he would've kissed her. But as quickly as it appeared it was gone, and her heart clenched the way it did when she was seventeen and denied by the same boy.

She pulled back slightly, moving far enough away so that she was out of arms reach, reminding herself that he was only being kind.

"Sorry about your shirt." She said, taking in the large wet spot on his shoulder.

He laughed, and she fought the smile that the sound automatically brought to her face.

"It's alright Haley J. Look, I can stay if you wa-"

"No!" she exclaimed, flushing with embarrassment as she clapped her hand over her mouth. "I mean, no thank you. It's sweet Nathan, but unnecessary. I need to get my head together and figure out how to tell Tyler…and my family."

"I don't know Hales, I really don't want to leave you like this." He said, sounding irritated and worried about her all at the same time.

"I'm really okay Nathan. Not like I'm going to go into labor right now, right?" she tried for levity, backpedalling quickly as she saw his frown deepen. "Kidding. I really will be fine, I'm going to get some sleep and deal with things in the morning."

"If you're sure…" he hedged, sighing at her insistent nod. "All right. If you need anything –"

"I'll call, I promise." She answered, standing before walking him to the door.

"And if your mother calls?" he asked, having no doubt in his mind that Lydia would be calling him non-stop when she didn't hear from him.

"Oh, gosh. Um, I hate to ask you to lie, but maybe you could stall her?" she asked pleadingly, smiling when he nodded. "Thank you."

"Okay." He stepped onto the patio, turning to face her, shaking his head in wonder at the mess she'd found herself in. "You promise you'll call if you need something, anything?"

"I promise." She said, giving him another soft smile as he wished her goodnight before running through the slowing rain to his car.

He'd just walked in the front door of his home when his cell phone rang. He answered it almost immediately, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Haley J? You okay?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't she be okay?" he heard Lydia's worried voice float over the other end of the line.

"Shit." He muttered, mostly to himself, but loud enough for Lydia to hear.

"Nathan Royal Scott, watch your language." She reprimanded in the motherly tone that was all too familiar. "Why are were you so eager to talk to my daughter and why did you ask if she was okay? Is she not okay? Is something wrong with my baby? Do I-"

"Lydia!" Nathan cut her off, laughing despite the rock and a hard place he found himself in. It was obvious where Haley got her rambling from.

"Sorry." She offered. "Start talking sort-of son of mine."

"First of all, I apologize for worrying you. I told Haley when I left to call if she needed anything and I'd just assumed –"

"You saw her?"

"Yes ma'am, and while she definitely has some things going on, she is okay." He answered, hoping against hope that she wouldn't press him for anymore details.

"What do you mean things going on?" she asked, ignoring the sigh he let out. "She has things going on that she can't tell me, her mother?"

"Listen Lydia, please don't ask me for more. I'm sure she's going to talk to you about it, she always does, she just needs time to sort things out for herself."

There was silence for a minute and he was sure she was cataloging a long list of questions to throw at him. He was tempted to make up some lame excuse to get off the phone, but he knew Lydia would stop at nothing to make sure she got the information she needed when it came to the well-being of her daughter.

"Do you think I should drive up there?"

He almost told her yes, ignoring the fact that he'd promised Haley he'd stall her mother as best as possible. But it'd be so much easier if Lydia handled this; not to mention safer. He couldn't have Haley end up in his arms every time he went to check on her, it was a sure-fire recipe for disaster.

"No." he sighed, kicking himself for caring so damn much about Haley, Lydia, the whole damn James family. "It's late Lydia and on top of that it's storming. I have a feeling she'll be calling you soon, probably tomorrow, and I told her if she needs anything at all to give me a ring."

"Okay, you're right." Lydia relented. "I'm so glad you're close by Nathan, it makes me worry about her less – though I know as much as I bother you it doesn't seem like it."

He laughed. "You're not a bother Lydia. Haley's a wonderful girl."

"She is smart and beautiful and sweet, if not a little stubborn sometimes." He nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him. Haley James was nothing if not stubborn…and beautiful? Yeah, he'd say she had that one in the bag too. "But despite all her smarts and how pig-headed she can be, she's too damn trusting and I worry."

"I understand. She sees the good in people, even if it's not really there." Which had to be her problem, she trusted in the idiot that took her innocence and knocked her up because she saw the good in him.

"Yes." Lydia agreed, remembering when a younger, rough around the edges Nathan was the boy that her daughter found the good in. "Well, while I have you on the phone, I wanted to know if you'll be coming home for Christmas? Jimmy and I miss you, and I think the boys are due for another butt-whooping on the basketball court."

"Lydia, I'd love to but –"

"Don't you dare tell me you're too busy Nathan Scott. Even fancy sport agents take time off for their families on holidays."

He rolled his eyes, half annoyed and half amazed that she so seamlessly transitioned from mothering Haley to mothering him. His own mother had never done that. He was the product of a fast and volatile love affair that came to an end about the same time he came into the world. Dan Scott hadn't wanted much to do with the boy, preferring to go out drinking and partying, the culmination of the two often resulting in drunken fist fights. His mother, Deborah Scott, preferred to live in la-la land, depending only in whatever bottle of alcohol she was nursing at the time, seeing her son as nothing more than something she had to put up with.

By the time he was ten, he was out wandering the streets, fending for himself, returning home only when he needed to, making sure his mother hadn't drown herself in a bottle. By the time he was thirteen, she'd kicked him out onto the same streets he'd basically grown up in. At fourteen, Lydia James breezed into his life, taking him home with her after she found him sleeping in one of her husband's church pews. He figured he'd stay a few days, get some food and sleep, and leave. He never would've imagined the James' taking him in as one of their own, making him family.

"I was planning to take some time off." He admitted begrudgingly, though she didn't need to know he planned hopping a plane to whatever tropical destination his travel agent chose.

"Christmas time is family time Nathaniel." She insisted, smiling to herself as she heard him groan in distaste at the use of his full first name.

"I'll think about it." He offered, knowing she wouldn't stop until she got an answer she found to be satisfactory.

"Okay great, see you in a few weeks!" she exclaimed as if she'd never heard his non-committal answer.

"Lydia –" he started to warn.

"This is your home Nathan. We are your home. Sooner or later you're going to have to come back, you can't run forever." She responded, her voice more serious than he'd heard it in a long time. "We love you, Nathan. Bye."

He sat there staring at the phone, wondering how after almost 14 years of knowing her she'd managed to still manipulate him and pull him back into the family he tried so hard to distance himself from.

Looking around the house, he realized he was still standing in the foyer where he'd stopped when his phone rang. The house was empty and quiet, almost eerily so. It was such a stark contrast from the chaos that had been – and still was- the James household. That house was never quiet or empty. Running a heavy hand through his hair, he dropped his keys and wallet on the coffee table before heading upstairs to his bedroom where he kicked off his shoes. Too tired to change out of his clothes, he simply pulled off the button down shirt he wore, flopping down onto his bed.

He closed his eyes, imagining what it would be like to come home and not be met by silence. He pictured a woman, nuzzled into the pillows as she waited for him to come home after working late. He could see it so clearly, her hair dark and loose, a warm smile lighting her face as she watched him move closer to her, her arms extending up and out towards him.

His eyes shot open in an instant when he realized who this imagined woman was.

_Haley,_ he realized. He was imagining Haley James in his bed.

Shaking those all too disturbing – and appealing – images from his head, his thoughts turned back to Haley's current situation. He knew he had to help her. There was no way he was going to stand idle by and watch her worry herself to death over this mess she'd inadvertently created for herself. He had to help her and then he had to forget about her.

After laying there for what seemed like hours, he came up with the perfect solution. A string-free way to help that ensured she'd stay out of his bed and, hopefully, out of his thoughts.

_Money. _

The simple fact of the matter was that he had it and she didn't. She was young college student living in a crappy one-bedroom house that was barely holding itself together. With a baby on the way she'd have more expenses than she could imagine; doctors bills, diapers, clothes, rent. She wouldn't be thrilled, he was sure, but she needed help. She needed to be out of that shady neighborhood, into a pretty little two-bedroom house near campus. And a car. Lord, he was amazed her old piece of crap was still in one piece, let alone running.

He knew she'd argue with him, tell him she'd figure it out, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. With five mouths to feed – six, including his own – Lydia and Jimmy never had much money. They managed of course, and their children never went without, even if they had to wear hand-me-downs every once in a while. But when Jimmy had his heart attack a few years ago, it all but drained them. Of course, all of the kids were out of the house at that point, and they did what they could to help, but their parents refused any type of financial assistance from any of their children, Nathan included. He'd be damned if another member of that family, Haley especially, turned him down when he offered what he could to pay them back for everything they'd done for him.

It was not even half past eight when Haley heard another knock at the door, assuming it was her mother coming to seize the fort. She was sure Nathan had kept his word about stalling her, but she knew that little could deter Lydia James when she was worried about something.

Padding across the living room floor, she opened the door, surprised to find Nathan Scott once again standing on her porch.

"Hi." She said, offering a small smile as she folded her arms over her breasts, as if to hide herself from him.

His eyes took her in, roaming her body. She looked rumpled and soft, like she'd just rolled out of bed. Her eyes looked red and almost swollen, a result of all the crying she'd done he assumed. Her short, blue plaid boxers showed off her tan, shapely legs and the thin Carolina blue camisole she wore did little to hide her chest. His fingers literally itched to touch her.

"When I heard the knock I was certain it was mother." She said, nodding her head to the side, an unspoken invitation to move further into the house.

"I think I stalled her for a while, but I'm honestly not sure how much time it actually bought you." He answered, sitting on the arm of the couch as he watched her throw on a UNC-W sweatshirt. He sighed in relief.

"So is she waiting for a follow-up report or should I be expecting her soon?" she asked.

"She's supposed to wait for you to call, but you know your mother."

She nodded, her pink tinted toes pushing deeply into the pile carpet beneath her feet.

He wanted to ask her if she'd made a decision, if she'd talked to that jackass – he'd have to find out his name later – of a boyfriend of hers, but, he figured, as he took in her rumpled state, that he should ease into it.

"You need to eat." He told her matter-of-factly. "You look thin."

She laughed then, a sarcastic, hollow laugh. "Well, won't have to worry about that for long will I?"

"Let's go get breakfast." He suggested, ignoring her sarcastic reply. If they left she'd have to put on pants that covered up those tan, tempting legs.

"Nathan, I'm fine, I'll find something here." She argued, looking like she'd rather be standing anywhere but near him. The feeling was more than mutual, but for a completely different reason he feared. "I know my mother bothers you to death until you check in."

"She's not why I'm here right now though. And sorry Haley J, I'm not taking no for an answer. You need to eat, I need to eat. I'll cook us something here while you take a shower or freshen up or whatever it is you girls do that takes hours at a time." He teased.

He stood there watching her, waiting for him to argue back, to tell him to mind his own business and get the hell out of her house, but she just stood there silently, her eyes meeting his briefly before dejectedly dropping down to gaze at the carpet her pretty pink toes were wearing a hole into.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered, not bothering to look at him. "You don't even like me."

He flinched when he saw the hurt pass over her face. "Haley J, I've always liked you. How could you think any differently?"

"You always thought I was a pain." She replied, her teary gaze meeting his, even as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"You _are _a pain." He conceded with a laugh. "You were always trying to make me into a better person and I, for the life of me, could not figure out why you'd waste your time like that."

She shrugged, the smile continuing to grow as she thought back to when they were growing up. "You turned out alright."

"You had more to do with that than I did." He admitted honestly. "Seriously Hales, I've never disliked you, not even close. Believe me?"

She nodded, eyeing him warily as he moved towards her small kitchen.

"Good. Now, go shower, then we'll eat. If you still want me gone after that, I'll leave."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" she asked, and he was pretty sure she was mostly joking.

"Why would anyone hope to die?" he frowned.

"Nathan!"

"Okay, fine." He lied.

He watched as she turned to leave, grabbing her hand before she was out of reach.

"Haley J." he started, though he wasn't sure what else he'd planned on saying. "I know how hard it is to struggle, to let someone help you. I never understood why you didn't just call it quits with me and my stubborn ass back then."

"You were worth it." She said simply, quietly.

He nodded in silent appreciation; a part of him thinking there'd never be a time when he didn't feel the overwhelming need to thank her and her family. "Please let me help you."

She watched plead with her, all but begging her to let him help. She knew he'd always felt indebted to her family, like he would forever owe them something and she figured he thought this was his way of doing it. Selfish as it was, a part of her wish he was doing it because he cared, because he loved her the way she loved him, the way she'd always loved him.

"How?"

"I came to offer you money." He thought about lying, realizing too little too late as he watched the hurt flash in her eyes, that thrusting money at her was cowardly and wouldn't cut it. Not with her.

She shook her head softly, a small, sad smile on her face as she pulled her hand from his and turned once more to go.

"No."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Little Wonders

**Author:** Kristen (KLafferty6)

**Summary:** Haley James finds herself pregnant and unwed about the same time Nathan Scott shows up on her doorstep. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, can she go along with the elusive loner's plan without getting her heart involved? Can he? NH.

**Rating:** M (in later chapters)

**A/N**: This story is inspired by a book called _Heard it Through the Grapevine_ which I absolutely love and read on a far too frequent basis, so if the plot seems familiar to anyone at all, it has been based off of this magnificent book. It was just too wonderful not to use for Naley.

I don't think I have much to add this time. I am sorry for the wait between chapters, this is the first time I've been able to sit at a computer for more than 20 minutes at a time. I sincerely hope it was worth the wait. And, as always, I'm going to thank _**Molly**_ and **_Di_** for pretty just being amazing, I adore you both.

* * *

She stayed in the bathroom for what seemed like forever, thinking if she hid in there long enough Nathan would give up and leave. Her wishes were quickly shot down as she heard pots and pans clanking around in the kitchen, proof that he was in fact still there. She sighed as she dressed slowly, slipping into dark denim jeans and a simple red sweater, thinking of all the times she'd prayed for God to bring Nathan to her, back into her life. And now…well now she was thinking that age-old saying of 'be careful what you wish for' was far too true.

"Hales?" he shouted through the door. "You okay?"

She figured she had to go out there, face him, face this. She promised herself she'd try to let him help her, remembering how difficult he'd made things for her when the roles were reversed all those years ago. So pride be damned, she'd do her best to be gracious and cooperative.

Opening the door, she found his face mere inches from hers, not having realized he was standing right outside when he called to her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, stumbling slightly backwards in surprise, his hand shooting out to stabilize her as she found her footing.

"Sorry." He said, removing his hand from her hip almost as quickly as he'd placed it there. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay, I just didn't realize you were standing right there. No harm, no foul."

"Right." He nodded, glad to see her looking more refreshed and wearing actual clothes instead of her sad excuse for pajamas. He turned, leading her wordlessly back into the kitchen where he pulled a chair out for her, turning to look at her over his shoulder when he heard her giggle. "What?"

"Nathan." she giggled some more, a genuine laugh pulling from her, causing him to smile. "It's barely even nine in the morning and you made mac'n'cheese?"

"You have like, eight million boxes in the pantry Haley J and I figured I couldn't go wrong with Food of the Gods." He shrugged with a smile.

"Well I guess you're right, it's never too early for mac'n'cheese." She agreed. "And I didn't realize it, but I'm starving."

"Good. Sit down and eat." He ordered, before sitting in the chair opposite of her, watching as she devoured the whole bowl he'd set out.

"Better?" he asked once she'd pushed the bowl away from her.

"Much, thank you. That hit the spot."

"Good." He replied, unconsciously playing with his hands in front of him as he so often did when nervous or uncomfortable. He wanted, well at this point, _needed_ to know if she'd made any decisions, if she'd talked to what's-his-face, but he didn't know where to start, didn't how to ease into it.

"Go ahead and ask me Nathan." She said quietly.

"What?"

"You have questions, and you're trying to figure out how to ask me right?" she guessed, tempted to laugh as she watched his eyes widen in surprise before he nodded. "Well then go ahead and ask me."

"How did you-?"

"Nathan Scott, I have known you for far too long. I can read you like a book."

_God, I hope not._ He thought, thinking if she knew half the things he thought – and felt – sometimes she'd surely have kicked his sorry ass off her property before he had a chance to step foot in her house.

"Oh." He said dumbly, not sure what the proper response was to that. "Um, I guess I'll just ask then. Did you talk to…what's his name?"

"Tyler." She supplied, her eyes dropping down to her own hands that now tangled together in front of her. "Yes I spoke to him."

"And…?"

"And lets just say I don't think he'll be meeting the family anytime soon."

He sighed, though he had a feeling from her description last night that this guy wasn't in the running for boyfriend of the year to begin with. "What happened?"

"Well, the long and short of it is, he didn't think his fiancée would be too happy if he came home with his pregnant mistress."

"Are you shitting me?" he roared, rage filling him as he stood abruptly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him. She seemed unfazed by his sudden anger, allowing a small smile to pull at her mouth.

"You know, I never fully understood that expression, but no, I'm not shitting you." She replied, quickly squelching her growing smile as she caught his glare.

"Now is not the time to be quoting one of your stupid chick flick movies Haley Marie James." He scolded.

She laughed, despite his frustrated warning. "How did you know it was from a movie?"

"Please! You used watched that movie so many times I think your brothers and I have the whole damn thing memorized." He reminded her.

"Well it's a good movie." She defended.

"If you say so Hales. And anyways, that doesn't have anything to do with what we're talking about, stop distracting me!"

"Sorry." She said, though there wasn't a hint of remorse in her voice, the change of subject was nice while it lasted.

"Yeah I can tell." He grumbled, running a ragged hand through his hair before taking a deep breath. "So…he's married?"

"Soon to be, apparently." She replied. "And before you even ask, no, I didn't know. Not at all."

"I would've never asked you that Hales. I know you better than that. You'd never do something like that."

"Yeah well, didn't ever think I'd end up pregnant out of wedlock but here we are." She mumbled dejectedly, plopping her chin down on her arms that were folded atop the table.

He took a deep, cleansing breath before righting his chair and sitting down. He looked at her sitting across from him, taking in her sad, brown eyes; fear, confusion and shame dancing in her orbs. Without thinking – something he was starting to realize he needed to do when around her – he reached out, grasping one of her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, their palms touching slightly.

"You made a mistake Hales." He said softly, his thumb stroking gently against hers.

"He just…he was so nice to me, charming, you know? Seemed so sincere, and he was so good-looking. I thought I'd really lucked out with him. I was completely blinded by it all. What an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." He argued back immediately, his fingers grasping hers that much more. "You're kind-hearted and believe the best in people, which aren't bad qualities to say the least; it just means he's even more of a jackass for taking advantage of that, of you."

She tried to offer him a smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "Oh well. His loss right?"

"Absolutely." He agreed. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Have a baby I guess." She replied.

"Haley." He sighed. "That answer wasn't any funnier this time than it was last night."

"Well it's what I'm going to do Nathan!" she exclaimed in frustration, pulling her hand from his, leaning back in her chair. "What do you want me to say? I'm not having an abortion. I may have screwed up, Lord knows, but there's no way I'm having an abortion. So I'm having a baby. That's kind of where we are with this."

"Okay, Hales. Calm down." He soothed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it, and I never assumed you were going to – to you know – get rid of it. I guess I just meant, what are you going to do after?"

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." She apologized softly, her eyes meeting his as he nodded in understanding. "And I don't know. I mean, obviously I'm going to have to tell my parents, my brothers. I don't want to worry them, my dad especially. He's not supposed to stress and this is sure to test his stress limits."

"Your parents worry about you regardless Haley, you can't prevent that." He reasoned.

"And then there's school." She continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I've still got a year left, probably a year and a half now, at the least. I don't know how I'm going to manage a baby and school…maybe I should give it up for adoption."

"Do you really think you could do that? I know having a baby at your age in your…situation…would be difficult, but I know you Haley, you'd regret it forever."

"I know!" she cried. "But there are other people who want a baby, who _plan_ to have a baby and can't! People that can love a baby and dedicate all their time to one instead of juggling the responsibilities of parenthood with school and making ends meet at a dead end job!"

"Okay, okay. One step at a time." He suggested. "Do you want to keep this baby?"

Wide brown eyes with tears swimming in them looked up at him, her lip wedged between her teeth like he'd seen her do a million times before. She let out a shaky breath before nodding. "Yes."

Her timing wasn't great with all of this -actually, to call a spade a spade, her timing sucked- but this baby, it was a part of her, and as difficult as it may be to raise a child as a single parent while still in school, she couldn't seriously entertain the idea of giving someone else her baby to raise as their own.

"Okay, so to recap. You want to keep the baby, you want –and need- to finish school, both of which are going to take time and money. You need a better car and a house that you and the baby can live in comfortably – which also takes money." He stated. "Did I miss anything?"

"Um, no…well, one more thing." she confirmed, holding up a finger to stop him when he opened his mouth to speak again. "And I didn't say anything about a car or a house."

"Haley. Your car barely gets you from point A to point B. You drive a two-door, piece of crap from the stone age, getting a car seat in and out of that thing would be a bitch. And last time I was here the a/c didn't even work. And this house –"

"What's wrong with my house?" she asked defensively.

"Well, I mean it's fine I guess for a college student on her own, but you're in a shady-as-shit neighborhood-"

"Your language is atrocious Nathan Scott." She interrupted, receiving nothing but an eye-roll.

"You only have one bedroom which is hardly big enough for you, no way it's going to fit a crib and a changing table and whatever else a baby needs. And the kids going to need a yard to play in." He listed, finishing his lecture with a 'so-there', nod.

"Okay, you're right, but as you'll recall Mr. Moneybags, I'm not accepting your money, especially not for all of that, no way Jose."

"Haley." He whined, only to receive a simple head shake. "Fine, we'll get back to that…but don't think that part of the conversation is over."

"I'm beginning to miss the days when you wouldn't talk." She mumbled.

"I'm beginning to miss the days when you weren't an ornery, pain in the ass!" he fired back. "Oh wait…"

"HaHa." She deadpanned, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Anyways. What was the one thing I forgot to mention earlier?" he asked, getting back to the subject.

"I don't want the baby to grow up without a father." She answered quietly, eyes studying her hands that sat on the table in front of her.

"You don't know that you won't find someone Hales." He responded immediately, desperately trying to ignore the wave of irrational jealousy he felt at the thought of some other guy in her life. "And even if you didn't, you'll be a great mom, even if you have to be a single mom."

"It's not so much about me," She admitted. "My kid deserves a father, a dad; someone that will spoil them and teach them and love them. I know it's kid of a moot point right now, since, father or not, I'm having this baby, but still. It's a concern."

He sat there silently, tossing his idea back and forth, wondering how quickly she'd laugh at him – or slap him – after he suggested it. The pieces just fit together so well, it made the most sense, surely he could make her see that…

"So," he began, clearing his throat nervously. "You'd feel better if you were married and the kid had a dad?"

"Well yes, but that ship's kinda sailed, don't you think?" she laughed humorlessly. "I mean, even if he wasn't engaged, there's no way Tyler would have ever-"

"I'm not talking about that ass Haley. In fact, let's not mention him again." He grumbled. "I was actually talking about, well –okay look, it's crazy alright, but I was talking about me. You can marry me…you know, for the baby."

_Of course for the baby, _she thought, feeling simultaneously hurt and grateful. "Nathan…"

"Look just, just hear me out here okay?" he asked. "This could work Haley J. We could get married right away, and for all intents and purposes I would be the baby's father and no one would have any reason to suspect otherwise."

"Nathan, it's –" she paused, seeming to search for the right words. "it's just a tad drastic don't you think?"

"No, I don't think." He answered her simply, confidently. "You want this baby to have a dad and you don't want me to just give you money, this is the best of both. My house is big; there'd be more than enough room for the three of us. I can have my housekeeper to come in full time to help with the baby while you're at school because you finishing is non-negotiable."

"Nathan –" she tried to interject, her head spinning a million miles an hour. Of all the nights she'd dreamed of Nathan Scott proposing to her, she'd never imagined it to be like this.

"Not done." He stopped her, ignoring the look she shot him that said 'excuse me?'. "Your parents would totally buy it. I've been stopping in to see you, so they know we've been spending time together. And I know you don't want to lie to them, but if we just tell them we're getting married they'll assume everything else on their own." He told her, quieting the worry she'd not even been able to voice.

He watched her across the small table, bottom lip wedged firmly between her teeth, a doubtful, worried expression on her face. He knew this could work, that it was the best solution for her, for the baby, he just needed to convince her of that. Moving around to her side of the table he kneeled in front of her, drawing her eyes to his as he palmed her face gently between his hands.

"Hales, this can work. I know it can. Things used to be easy with us remember? We can get there again. Let me help you."

"I remember." She said silently. "It was you that forgot."

He shook his head firmly, his hands grasping her face that much tighter. "I didn't forget Haley. I care about you so much, I always have. Now I'm not going to say I'm in love with you, because we both know it's not that, but I you're special to me Haley. Let me help."

"But Nathan, this is _marriage, _that means something."

"It only means what we want it to mean Haley." He said.

A thought occurred to her as she sat there watching him plead his case, part of her wondering why this was so important to him. "Nathan is this – is this because you think you owe my family something?"

He clenched his jaw, cursing her amazing intuitiveness. He didn't necessarily want to have to bring that to attention, though it was certainly something he considered when he proposed the idea. He owed the James family so much; he didn't think he'd ever be able to repay them. But this, helping Haley when she needed him the most, well it might not repay them fully, but it was a hell of a step in the right direction.

"Nathan Scott." She scolded, already sounding like a reprimanding mom. "My parents helped you because you became a part of our family and family takes care of each other."

"Haley – " he started to argue, cutting off shortly when he caught the warning glare she shot him. "Fine, you're right. I'm family, let me take of you and the baby. This baby deserves everything Hales. I'll be whatever you want me to be. I can just be a name on a sheet of paper or someone to help you until you get on your feet. Whatever you want me to be, I'll do it, you just have to let me."

"Nathan." She sighed, pulling his hands from her face, but holding them in her own. "I appreciate it. I do, so much. It's an incredibly sweet and selfless and good thing you're offering to do for me, for us. But what about you? You're just going to put your life on hold?"

He hadn't really thought of that, though there wasn't much to put on hold. His workaholic life style didn't leave room for much else aside from the occasional women in his life, not that he was at all committed to anything or anyone.

"We can put a time limit on it if it'll make you feel any better, though I really do think you're making this more complicated than it needs to be."

"A time limit?" she asked, ignoring his other comment.

"Three years. We get married; you move in and live life like normal. I'll go to work, you'll go to school then have the baby and then when you're ready, when you're on your feet, we'll end it. Simple." He laid it out for her. And he was right, in theory, if you took out all of the emotion, all of the years of unreciprocated feelings, it was simple.

She felt the tears spilling down her cheeks, only some-what aware of his hands gently brushing them away. There were a million and one reasons why she shouldn't do this, why, while it was an incredibly sweet gesture, it was a terrible idea. There was no way she could live with this man - a man she'd loved since he was a boy - watch him bond with her a child, and then just walk away, not with her heart intact at the end of all of it.

"Marry me Haley." He said softly, confidently. "I'll take good care of you and the baby, I swear it."

"I know you will." She answered just as softly. "I just…Nathan, are you sure?"

He smiled, knowing that she was giving in, that he was finally going to show her, her family, how much he appreciated everything they'd done for him. "I'm sure. Say yes."

She took a deep breath, eyes closed as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"Yes." She nodded firmly, eyes opening to meet his bright blue ones shining with relief. "Yes Nathan, I'll marry you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Little Wonders

**Author:** Kristen (KLafferty6)

**Summary:** Haley James finds herself pregnant and unwed about the same time Nathan Scott shows up on her doorstep. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, can she go along with the elusive loner's plan without getting her heart involved? Can he? NH.

**Rating:** M (in later chapters)

**A/N**: This story is inspired by a book called _Heard it Through the Grapevine_ which I absolutely love and read on a far too frequent basis, so if the plot seems familiar to anyone at all, it has been based off of this magnificent book. It was just too wonderful not to use for Naley. This is the first multi-chapter fic I've started in who knows how long, so bear with me. I'm hoping to update once a week, if not twice a week. Thanks to my **sister** for the title suggestion and overall encouragement and support, you're a rockstar Moll.

Also, I'm terribly sorry this update took so long. I make no excuses except that life simply gets in the way. I promise, with Christmas break around the corner, I will try my hardest to get updates out at a much faster rate. Hopefully there are still a few of you out there reading this. This chapter is short, but it's where it needed to end so that it picks up in the right place for the next chapter, we're just getting the ball rolling here, there's a lot of story left.

* * *

They hadn't spoken in what seemed like hours, though she knew it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. In that time they'd moved from the kitchen table to the couch, his arm wrapped tightly around her trembling shoulders as she leaned lightly against him, attempting to soak up the strength and confidence that seemed to be ebbing off of him. Her mind ran a million miles an hour; thoughts, fears and doubts tumbling over themselves so fast she was hard pressed to make sense of anything she was thinking. She'd opened her mouth half a dozen times to tell him she'd changed her mind, list out all the ways his proposal of marriage was a horrible, terrible idea, but the words wouldn't come out.

He sat there quietly, his hand running lightly up and down her arm as he felt her shake against him. He was surprised they'd sat so quietly for so long, half expecting her to change her mind after two seconds of thinking about it. He knew she was doubting herself, doubting him, the whole idea, but he was completely relaxed, confident that this plan would work. She would be taken care of, the baby would be taken care of and that was really all that mattered to him.

"We need to tell your parents." He said, breaking the silence.

She pulled away from him slightly; panic and uncertainty dancing around in her brown eyes. "Oh. Yeah, I'll do it. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow."

He knew she was stalling, thinking if she waited her thoughts would slow and she'd find a solid reason not to go through with this; he wasn't having it.

"Let's call them now." He suggested, fighting the smile he felt tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched her big, brown eyes widen even more. He glanced pointedly at her still flat tummy before continuing. "I mean, it's not like we have time to waste, ya know? And besides, Christmas is two weeks away, it's perfect."

"Perfect?" she repeated, her head still spinning with the idea that she was pregnant - pregnant and engaged; engaged to Nathan Scott. Surely she had to be dreaming.

"Well, we can't spend four months planning it, now can we?" he pointed out realistically. "It's the perfect time to get married. All of your brother's will be home and you'd want them all there if this was the real deal, right?"

"Well, yes, but –" she agreed.

"Okay then." He said, ignoring the 'but' she'd tacked on to her previous statement. "We have to make this look real Hales." He watched her hesitantly nod as he reached for her cell phone sitting on the table in front of them. Flipping through the contacts he pressed call when he found the house number, pushing the phone into her open palm.

She stared at the phone, unable to bring it to her ear even as she heard it begin to ring. Her eyes shot back to his, silently pleading for him to do it. He sighed, pulling her tighter to him as he put the phone on speaker, waiting for the other line to pick up.

"Hello daughter of mine." Lydia's voice sang from the other end.

"Hey Lydia, it's –" he started, lacing Haley's fingers through his, squeezing her hand gently in encouragement.

"Nathan Scott. What are you doing with my girl's phone?" she teased lightly.

"Well, I borrowed it to let you and Jimmy know that she's going to be my girl now, I finally convinced her to marry me." He smiled, that wasn't exactly a lie. He looked down at Haley, worried slightly that she'd stopped breathing as she sat there next to him, her tiny hands both clasped tightly around his one.

Lydia laughed, a soft, breathless, confused laugh. "I'm sorry Nathan, I'm apparently losing my hearing in my old age. It sounded like you said you convinced her to marry you."

He laughed lightly as well. "You heard right Lydia, we're engaged. We'd like to get married when we come home for Christmas."

There was a loud peal of a scream, followed by laughing and a lot of yelling as Jimmy joined his wife on the other end of the line. They both congratulated them, telling Nathan it was about time he became an official part of the family, and to his surprise, offered no objections to him marrying their only little girl.

"Nathan, is Haley there? I need to speak with her, especially if we're going to pull this off in two weeks!" Lydia asked, the excitement in her voice obvious.

"Hi Mom." Haley answered, a small smile gracing her face as she listened to her mother ask her questions at a rapid-fire rate. "Yes, Bear can walk me down the aisle since Daddy'll be doing the service…No, no decorations, we'll just use whatever the church has out for Christmas…Your wedding dress would be perfect Mom, thank you…We just want everyone there, something small at the house afterwards is fine."

Nathan watched her with pride, as unsure as she'd been about this before, she was handling it just fine now. There was an ever-growing smile on her pretty face as she answered the never-ending questions Lydia fired off. They'd have to work hard to pull this off in two weeks, but with Lydia's help he had no doubt things would go accordingly.

"Haley-bop, you love him don't you?" Lydia asked innocently, not knowing that one question had the power to ruin this whole plan that he'd worked so hard to convince Haley would work.

Her smile was lost, face crumbled as she looked up at him like he was only thing keeping her from completely losing it. Her hand subconsciously found it's way to her midsection, rubbing soothing circles around the still mercifully flat area. He nodded at her, encouraging her on, hoping she wouldn't forget the promises he made, hoping she wasn't doubting them. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she exhaled before answering.

"Yes, Mom. I love him." She whispered.

She watched as he nodded again, smiling this time in relief. Their conversation with Lydia continued for a few more minutes before they hung up.

"You did good, Haley J." he told her, squeezing her hand encouragingly. "You okay?"

She nodded, shaken still from the whirlwind that her life seemed to become overnight.

"Nathan, when I told her I loved you…" she tapered off, not sure what, if anything, she planned on saying after that. She'd meant it, she knew she did, even though she'd go to the grave swearing to him she didn't. She'd loved him since she was just a kid, it certainly wasn't going to go away now that he'd offered her so much.

"I know, Hales. It's okay." He promised. "You did what you had to."

"It's more than that!" She insisted, though immediately regretted it when she saw his face pale. "I know this isn't about love, I know why we're doing this, but…for what you're doing for me, for this baby. I do. I do love you for that Nathan."

He nodded wordlessly, not sure what the proper response was or even if he could voice it if he came up with one. He remembered a night so many years ago when she'd said those same three words to him, words that shook him to the core. He'd thrown them back in her face, making her feel as if they meant, and she meant, nothing.

She loved so easily, everyone and everything that had the privilege to enter her life knew what it was like to be loved and cared for. She loved excessively, never having a shortage of it. When he was younger, and sometimes even now, he thought it made her stupid and careless. Asking to get hurt by giving so much of her heart so easily and without question. After all, he thought furiously, that's how she'd ended up in this situation. She gave that jackass what's-his-name her heart when he obviously didn't deserve the time of day from the get go.

He wanted to say something, anything to make her words less powerful. Wanted to tell her love was an illusion, a trick to make people act stupid and get hurt, but he knew it would prove to no avail. But still, the words twisted inside of him, echoing in his mind, swirling in the pit of his stomach, beating against his chest.

They were just words, letters strung together to make sounds as a form of communication. But they continued to echo and swirl and beat inside of and against him and he once again felt shaken to the core as he had when he first heard those words leave her mouth.

Those same words terrified him as a kid. So, why did they hold so much appeal now?


End file.
